Best and Worst-Case Scenarios for the Rest of the Atlanta Falcons Season

The Atlanta Falcons season may feel like it's already over because of the team's 1-4 start, but Atlanta still has 11 more games in this 2013 campaign.

What's the Falcons outlook for the rest of the season? Can things get any worse than the nightmare they experienced during the first five weeks? What has to happen for the Falcons to rebound and get back to the playoffs?

Join us as we discuss a few of the best- and worst-case scenarios that could play out over the rest of the Atlanta Falcons season.

Worst-Case Scenario: Harry Douglas Is a Nonfactor in the Passing Game

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Speaking of Douglas, the Falcons will be in big trouble on offense if the metro-Atlanta native can't produce as a featured receiver in this offense.

Many Falcons fans have wanted to see Douglas get more opportunities to show what he can do with the ball in his hands, and now that Douglas has been thrust into the starting lineup, he'll get his shot.

If Douglas doesn't produce in these last eleven games, it may be time for the Falcons to add the wide receiver position to their growing list of offseason needs.

The Falcons defense is currently allowing a higher percentage of third-down conversions than any other defense in the league. That has to change if Atlanta is going to turn things around.

If the Falcons can somehow get their opponents' third-down conversion rate below 38 percent (which would put them closer to the middle of the pack statistically), they could be in a much better position to put together a winning streak.

Best-Case Scenario: 8-8 or 9-7 Is Good Enough for a Wild-Card Berth in the NFC

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If there's a bright spot to the Falcons 1-4 start, it's the fact that three of their losses have come against AFC opponents.

That means that the Falcons can still finish with a strong conference record and put themselves in the hunt for a wild-card spot.

The Falcons will probably have to hope the rest of the NFC wild-card contenders finish with eight or nine wins to have a realistic shot at the playoffs, since they need to go 7-4 to finish 8-8 or 8-3 to finish 9-7 at this point.

The most feasible way for Atlanta to finish at 9-7 would be to either (a) win all of its remaining divisional games (which are usually close games by default) and win at Arizona, at Buffalo and at home against Washington, or (b) win all of its remaining home games and split its remaining road games at 3-3.

Worst-Case Scenario: Saints Get Top Seed in NFC PLayoffs, Win Super Bowl Again

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Let's deal with the elephant in the room when many Falcons fans take a look at the current standings.

The Saints look legit at 5-1, and there's no reason to believe that they're going to suffer a collapse based on what we've seen thus far.

The first five weeks of this season were a nightmare for the Falcons on almost every front. If the rest of the season plays out the same way the first five weeks did, the absolute worst-case scenario for the Falcons (and their fans) would see the season end with the New Orleans Saints winning their second Super Bowl in five years.